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Netflix Buys California-based Studio to Incorporate Video Games

From becoming the most popular movie streaming platform to expanding its features to incorporate video games, yes, that’s the path Netflix is walking right now.

Netflix has purchased the California-based Night School Studio, the creators of Oxenfree, a paranormal thriller game to break into the gaming sector. 

The movie streaming giant said that it’s drawn to the artistic excellence and proven track record of the creators of Oxenfree, which makes them the best to partner with in building a library of Netflix games together.

Speaking, Sean Krankel the co-founder of Night School described it as “a surreal honour” to be the first game’s developer to join Netflix.

“Netflix gives film, TV, and now game makers an unprecedented canvas to create and deliver excellent entertainment to millions of people,” he wrote.

“There’s a kaleidoscope of butterflies in our team’s collective stomachs.”

This is coming two months after Netflix wrote in its quarterly letter to shareholders that it would be expanding to video games due to slow growth experienced in the streaming industry because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The video game offerings at the kickoff focus primarily on mobile games and it will attract no extra charge. The monthly fee covers it too.

Last month, Netflix announced that it had begun limited testing of its gaming features with Android users in Poland. They tested two games based on the storyline of the “Stranger Things” horror series.

Also this week, Netflix revealed that it has commissioned a third season of “The Witcher”, based on a series of fantasy novels and video games.

“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” the company said.

The multi-year effort will start “relatively small” with games tied to Netflix hits, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer, Mr Greg Peters noted.

“We know that fans of those stories want to go deeper. They want to engage further,” Mr Peters said.

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